If you think the idea of a new, clean-energy economy or the notion of green jobs are just rhetoric, take a trip up to Buffalo, New York. Have a look at the 1.2 million-square-foot shell of SolarCity‘s recently-completed manufacturing plant that lies nestled in a crook in the Buffalo River, just a mile or so before it empties out into Lake Erie.

The plant was topped off this week, a milestone that was marked by a visit by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The $900 million factory is the centerpiece of the governor’s upstate economic development plan, that he calls the Buffalo Billion. Other developments in the area include an IBM software research facility and biotech offices for Albany Molecular Research.

The new SolarCity factory is the result of a public-private partnership — in which the state retains ownership of the plant and machinery to discourage the company from moving out, in an environment where states are competing heavily against one another to attract businesses. The Buffalo area lost 10,000 manufacturing jobs over the past decade. The deal also contains a clause that requires the company pay significant fines if projected employment levels aren’t met.

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